PhosLo News

THURSDAY, June 11, 2015 – Many American children and teens aren't consuming enough liquids – especially water – and that lack of hydration could affect their physical and mental health, a new study suggests. The findings "highlight a potential health issue that has not been given a whole lot of attention in the past," study author Erica Kenney, a postdoctoral research fellow in social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in a Harvard news release. "Even though for most of these kids this is not an immediate, dramatic health threat, this is an issue that could really be reducing quality of life and well-being for many, many children and youth," she added. One expert in child health agreed. "Children – due to their slower acclimation to heat and greater surface area than adults – can be more susceptible to dehydration than adults," said Nancy ... Read more

-- Painful leg cramps can happen to anyone, but tend to be common among seniors. The AARP recommends: Gently stretch and flex the leg to ease a cramp. Ask your doctor if a medication, such as a statin or diuretic, could be causing your leg cramps. Make sure your electrolyte levels are normal. Below-normal levels of potassium, magnesium or calcium could trigger leg cramps. Drink plenty of fluids. Make sure the covers aren't too tight on your bed. Choose shoes with proper arch support. Read more

FRIDAY, May 30, 2014 – In the wake of concerns that calcium supplements increase the risk for heart attack or stroke, a large, new U.S. study offers women and their doctors some reassurance. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found, in a study of more than 74,000 women, that these supplements are safe in terms of heart health. Millions of women take calcium supplements in an attempt to boost bone strength, especially after menopause when the risk of fractures increases. This is so even though experts generally recommend that calcium come from diet rather than supplements. "One study found that more than 60 percent of women 60 and over were taking calcium supplements," said lead researcher Dr. Julie Paik of the hospital's Channing Division of Network Medicine. Some recent research has linked calcium supplementation with heart disease. Such studies suggested the ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, April 10 – Consuming higher amounts of calcium may lower the likelihood of precancerous colon and rectal lesions in people who are at increased risk due to variations in two genes, a new study suggests. High calcium intake did not affect risk in people without the genetic variations. The findings may help explain inconsistent results in previous research about the link between calcium intake and the risk for these lesions, called colorectal adenomas, the researchers said. They also said the findings may help identify patients who would benefit from calcium supplements or higher levels of calcium in their diet. The study of nearly 6,000 people in Tennessee found that patients with the highest calcium intake had no reduced risk for colorectal adenomas if they had no variations in two genes – KCNJ1 and SLC12A1 – that are essential in calcium reabsorption in the kidneys. ... Read more

MONDAY, Feb. 4 – Men taking calcium supplements may be running a nearly 20 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests. Both men and women take calcium supplements to prevent bone loss. In this study of calcium intake, the risk of dying from heart disease was higher for men but not for women. "Increasing evidence indicates that too much supplemental calcium might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease," said Susanna Larsson, an associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institute, in Stockholm. Larsson, who was not part of the study but wrote an accompanying journal editorial, added that "the paradigm 'the more the better' seems invalid for calcium supplementation." The report was published in the Feb. 4 online edition of the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. To find out if calcium supplements were ... Read more